Hampton Roads Wartime Women

02/09/2026

Major Della Raney was the first African American accepted into the Army Nurse Corps, the first African American commissioned as a Second Lt in the ANC, and the first African American nurse with the Army Air Force promoted to Captain. When Raney first applied to the ANC, her application was rejected because of her race. Jackson continued to apply, and wrote a letter to the director of nursing for the American Red Cross, explaining her desire to serve her country as a Nurse. This letter led to her acceptance into the ANC and paved the way for many others. Check out our link in bio to learn more about her.

02/04/2026

The only way to start Black History Month is to highlight LTC Charity Adams Early. She graduated with the first WAAC officers class and was first African American woman to become a WAAC officer. She served as CO for the 6888, the only African American WAC unit to be stationed overseas. The 6888 was a postal unit tasked to clear an enormous backlog of mail. Under LTC Adams’ command the 6888 worked around the clock to clear an estimated 17 million pieces of mail in only 3 months, half the time the army estimated was required for the task. This mail helped boost morale for overseas troop. Check out the Netflix movie about the 6888 to learn more about their story!

01/26/2026

Happy snow day! Stay safe out there!

01/22/2026

Lately we’ve been doing research on the WACs who served here in Hampton Roads, and we stumbled upon our most unusual WAC yet- a raccoon! WAC Sgt Floopy was adopted by Pvt William H. Bailey during his service in Hampton Roads. Bailey found the baby raccoon and raised her, and he said WAC Sgt Floopy became his good luck charm! You can see in the photo that Floopy wears a sweater with sergeant stripes. We don’t know what happened to Floopy after the war, but considering the bond these two had, we can only believe WAC Sgt Floopy spent the rest of her days with Pvt Bailey. Images courtesy of

01/06/2026

Something fun from last year- we recreated a original photo (last slide) WASP checking their Operations Tow Target schedule. We love an opportunity to recreate an original photo! Thanks to for letting us take photos!

01/04/2026

As we embrace 2026, here’s a look back at 2025 for the Hampton Roads Wartime Women! We had quite a year attending 12 events, 10 meeting and several workshops. Thank you for following along with us and all your support over the years. We look forward to more joy and adventures in 2026!

01/01/2026

Happy New Year!!!!

12/30/2025

The more studious among you might be familiar with Winnie the WAC but did you know there was also a WAC comic strip “G.I. Gertie”? The comic strip was written and drawn by WAC CPL Eva Mirabal of Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. Mirabal enlisted in 1943 and served until 1947, and was the only WAC assigned as a full-time artist. She created art, including “G.I. Gertie” for the nationally distributed newspaper AIR WAC. This made her one of the first female cartoonists to have her own published comic strip, and possibly the first Native American artist to publish her own comic strip. Read more about her in the article linked in our bio! womenshistoryisamericanhistory

12/26/2025

Merry Christmas from the Hampton Roads Wartime Women!

12/15/2025

Happy first night of Hanukkah to all those who celebrate!

12/10/2025

Hey Hampton Roads! Do you love WWII History? Do you love fiber crafts? Join us at the Sat Dec 13 from 10-3 to learn about Wartime Knitting!

11/25/2025